Christmas This Year
by 122 Generation
Summary: It's near Christmas and Mars has some motive to celebrate... yet she doesn't want to leave her warm home to venture a snow-covered Sinnoh; until Kellyn and Kate drag her out to do so. In her one-day holiday journey, Mars will repair ties with old enemies and even lead to a tearful reunion with two people she hadn't seen for years... Merry Christmas! Spinoff from Catharsis.
1. Winter: Unexpected Visitors

**Now for anyone concerned about what's going on, this is an event that takes place one year after my story 'Catharsis'. Officially, I actually did write this over a year after writing 'Catharsis' (in 2012!). So if you'd like to know how Mars actually got to this point, I encourage you to read the last two chapters of 'Catharsis' at least.**

* * *

**November 26**

**Christmas This Year**

**Floaroma Town: one year later**

The snow had blanketed the fields of Floaroma Town, not to mention the flowers. Nevertheless, the flowers did not fall apart but stayed frozen like delicate berries in a wide garden. Houses were covered in snow and fireplaces were all active, where families stayed warm and cozy at home. Everything was well, and even the children were playing leisurely around in the snow with their Pokémon friends.

The Pokémon Trainer Mars was also at her home, starting to decorate her house. It had been barely over a year since she had been granted and given freedom by the International Police. Within that time, she had experienced numerous journeys, one including an act of inception, but that was a different story…

Dressed in her iconic red sweater, a sleeveless black dress, and black pants, she opted to purchase some new clothes at Jubilife City, one which included a white dress and trimmed with red again, a housecoat, but also bought a shell jacket; it was her clothing of choice when it came to the winter. Indeed, her hairstyle was just the same as ever for the past years, and she was happy that all of Sinnoh seemed to accept her at last. A few times; she had to get a haircut since her hair would grow longer eventually.

_Brr… it's cold this morning!_ Mars thought, looking around her two-storey house. In the past year it had already been partly furnished, but it still needed some room for improvement. Using her money earned from selling berries, she bought a wardrobe, flat-screen television, a low high-end couch, coffee table, and even resources to develop a fireplace! It was installed in the past month.

So Mars went downstairs dressed in her robe to turn on her fireplace. For her own comfort, she wasn't alone; Purugly, Bronzor, and Kangaskan wandered around the house too and not to mention the Marill Kellyn had captured for her the year before.

"It's so cold today!" Mars exclaimed. "To think –"

But Mars was interrupted by the sudden nudging of her Marill who, after Mars gave some afterthought, made her follow the little Pokémon to the door. Although Marill was small, the Pokémon blasted a small Bubble attack on the doorknob. The door swung open where Mars saw a _lot_ of snow falling down in the community.

"That's very nice, Marill, but it's really cold!" Mars said, closing the door.

She walked over to the sofa, picked up a blanket on the way and tossed it on the seats. Mars planned to comfortably wrap up in blankets, but not before she would turn on the fireplace.

Only a minute later, the fireplace on the side wall was up and running and the entire house was filled with a tremendous sense of warmth. Purugly simply crawled near the fire and rested in front of it. On the other hand, Mars went to the kitchen to prepare a quick drink of hot chocolate, and eventually brought her laptop and her drink to the low sofa, placing her contents on the table in front and wrapped herself up in blankets.

"Mm…" Mars hummed, sipping the hot drink. It was sweet, as it always was, and was made from very hot Moo-moo milk mixed with cocoa powder. To her, it was possibly one of the best drinks she ever came across.

When she was about to fade into sleep again, Mars distracted herself by turning on her laptop. She began to work on it and happily typed out some business documents she was working on – which really were for her berry marketing career – while listening at the sound of the fire.

Knock. Knock.

_Hmph! Now I have to get up…_ Mars thought grudgingly. Still dressed in her favourite clothes, she got up to walk to the door. When she did open it, an astonishingly cold gust blew into her house. Mars couldn't take it.

"Hurry up! Come in!" she demanded, not bothering to look at her visitor. "It's so cold outside!"

The visitor walked right into her house, and Mars slammed the door shut.

"Mars… I'm not the only one who came in you know…" the visitor said.

Mars actually took her time to look at who came in. It was… Kellyn, the Pokémon Ranger, and his Pachirisu resting right on his shoulder. When she realised that, Mars blushed out of embarrassment.

"Oh! Sorry Kellyn! But that would mean…" Mars' eyes widened: she knew who would be waiting right outside in the cold. Reaching for the door, she opened it and as expected, saw –

"Kate! I'm sorry!" Mars quickly said, and whilst messing with her hair, and furthermore blushed red from major embarrassment. "Sorry Pachirisu! Sorry Grotle! Excuse me for being heartless!"

Indeed, Kellyn's co-worker and Partner Pokémon were just as unhappy as they were cold. Kate, her Pachirisu, Kellyn's Grotle and Kirlia walked right in. Mars beamed at her guests and dashed to grab some towels to dry them off. Right after, she gave one hug each to Kellyn and Kate.

"It's been too long, Kellyn!" Mars grinned. "It's been like a year since we met! What brings you here to Floaroma Town, anyway?"

"It's been more like over a year, I haven't seen you since we went with on that 'mission' with Wes," Kellyn politely corrected her. "You know… seeing that I haven't seen you for so long, Kate and I agreed to pay you a visit for Christmas! Besides, Kate was quite keen to meet you face-to-face."

Mars gestured for the Rangers to sit on the low sofa while the Pokémon made themselves comfortable looking for a nice place to rest. Incidentally, the favourite spot to rest was beside the fire.

"Shall I get you some drinks?" Mars offered.

"I'd like some hot water, please," Kellyn said to her.

"I'd like a cup of hot chocolate, Mars," Kate said right after.

"Oh, of course!" Mars nodded, face full of optimism. Immediately she thought of looking for another container of Moo-moo milk.

While she went to the kitchen, Kate turned her face to Kellyn's. "Don't you think it'd be nicer to do something for her? It looked like we couldn't get in to her house. There's so much snow!"

Kellyn looked up and then got up. "You have a point there, Kate. Here, I'll go and help sweep and clear the snow."

Before Kate could try to say a word, Kellyn had already gone outside, dragging Grotle with him.

* * *

"Here's your drink, Kate," Mars said, putting a cup of hot chocolate on the low table and also a plate of cookies. "I just opened these cookies. Try some!"

"Aw, Mars, you didn't have to," Kate protested, picking up her cup and taking small sips.

The two of them ended up chatting for a while. Kate noticed that Mars was more than happy to talk with someone. Of course, Mars did seem alone at her house.

"By the way, where'd Kellyn go?" Mars asked, halfway eating a cookie.

"He went outside to help sweep the snow off your doorstep," Kate replied, also eating a cookie. "I wanted to ask if I could help him, but Kellyn just came and went. He even brought Grotle to help him! Then again, he's keen to help people, like me!"

Mars laughed. "So how have you and Kellyn been helping people?"

"Oh, you know… Ranger's work," Kate replied. "We recently did a ridiculous Quest to help a tropical country prepare for a winter and Christmas festival. You know what we did? We had to bring snow there!"

Mars stared at her, and then giggled. "How did you do that? It's not like you could ship amounts of snow from Snowpoint City by ship; the snow would melt!"

"We had to capture a wild Froslass and Walrein on our own!" Kate said.

"What?!" Mars' jaw dropped. "Wild… how did – that must have been a pain! You two must have spent at least a day to look for them. You know, Froslass are naturally rare to find around these parts."

"Literally, Mars," Kate simply said. "It took twelve hours from dawn to dusk. We spent like a few days trying to recover from exhaustion."

And then Mars burst into fits of giggles, and Kate did exactly the same. In fact, it took the better of one minute to settle down, and drinking hot chocolate did not help stop it. Around the same time, Kellyn and Grotle walked in, welcoming the warmth of the house.

"The deed is done," Kellyn said in a light tone. "I was freezing out there!"

He finally sat down on the sofa and drank a mouthful of water, simultaneously taking a cookie.

"So Kellyn… what really brings you to Floaroma?"

He took his time to swallow, and then put his cup down. "I thought that after a year, and that I haven't seen you for so long, I would drop by to celebrate Christmas with you. Kate wanted to meet you in person, so… she came along. It looks like she finally did."

Kate looked at him. "You were right, Kellyn. She really is a great person. While you were out clearing the snow, Mars and I had a nice chat."

"About what?" Kellyn leaned in.

"It's a girl thing," Mars rushed to say, and before long Kellyn got suspicious. "Anyway, what do you think of the idea going to Veilstone for a bit?"

Kate dignified this with a grin. "Yeah! We could do with some shopping!"

* * *

**Officially, I've actually completed this story and it was a one-shot. But the story, a free time one month project of mine, is so long I just had to break it down into smaller bits...**


	2. Christmas Shopping! (with old enemies)

**Veilstone City**

If there was anything Kellyn didn't enjoy, it was following someone to go shopping. For clothes. Although that one time he helped out Mars pick some new clothes the year before was a different story because he had a good reason to do so.

The clothing department was promoting sales for the Christmas occasion. Fortunately for the girls, Kellyn was very patient. Even better was the fact that Kellyn went to check out new electronic parts in another floor of the building. Like the clothes, there were some sales going on.

"Hmm… lots of good graphics cards on sale," Kellyn said, and added another thought. _And I could do with an increased performance part for my Vatonage Styler._

_I wonder what should I get?_

As he continued to look at the electronics; Kirlia, who read Kellyn's mind, slapped her hands hard on Kellyn's hip.

"Ouch! What is it, Kirlia?" Kellyn looked at his Partner Pokémon.

She looked rather cross, and Kellyn concluded that Kirlia had just read his thoughts. Being a Pokémon Ranger, Kellyn had little trouble deciphering what Kirlia was getting at.

"So you're saying I shouldn't get things for myself yet?" he concluded. "Alright, I guess it would be better to give than to receive, right? I'll look for things for Little Sis, and mom, and Kate, and Mars… wow. That's a lot of things to buy."

Pachirisu scampered around the store to look for the appropriate electronic gift. Meanwhile, Kellyn was contemplating over buying a graphics card and an extremely powerful micro-processor. If he added it to his Styler… the data transfer would be even faster.

Grotle, however, together with Pachirisu persuaded Kellyn to buy some sets of Christmas lights. Eventually he picked up the set and also picked up some portable mini book lights. Speaking of books… he went over to the adjacent room and selected a few dessert cookbooks (he found it strange; to find food-related objects beside an electronic store). In addition, Kellyn pondered to buy a box of neatly designed chocolates. In the end, he added it to his inventory.

After looking at a lot more electronics on sale, Kellyn decided to make his final purchases, and he chose to buy the graphics card over the micro-processor.

_I wonder who to give the lights to…? Why did Pachirisu and Grotle…?_

And then it hit him: he had to give it to –

* * *

"I'm more in the mood to buy coats today, not jackets," Kate said. "Here Mars, why don't you try out this kind of coat?"

Kate passed a black cashmere coat (with the coat hanger) to Mars. "I think it'll look really nice."

With some persuasion by Pachirisu, Mars did take the coat and tried it on; looking at a mirror in the process. She _could_ add it to her wardrobe…

"Here's the deal, I'll buy it for you as a gift," Kate declared. She could tell by the look on Mars' face that she would want to keep it. Without another word, Kate snatched the coat from Mars just as she was taking it off and ran over to the cashier.

Mars stared in shock: Kate's decision and actions lasted in just under two minutes…

"Here's your coat, Mars," Kate presented it to her. "Merry Christmas."

She didn't feel like she _wanted_ the coat, but then again it was a gift from a friend. Mars accepted the coat gratefully, and Kate looked just as happy. The first thing Mars did with the coat was wear it.

_Oops, I almost forgot to remove the price tag,_ Mars suddenly remembered, and then she had a two-second flashback from the year before. It was old times, and possibly some of the best, when she had come to the same store with Kellyn shopping for brand new clothes.

"_You better get rid of those," Kellyn warned, seeing that she was about to run out of the store with the price tags still on. "Unless you're to be a thief of course. I was joking… joking!" he quickly corrected himself, seeing the look on her face._

"O-kay," Mars asked an employee to detach the price tag from her coat as she flashed the receipt at her. Afterwards, they walked to the electronics section where Kellyn was supposedly was.

* * *

**Veilstone City**

"…and these are for you," Kellyn tossed a heavy package to her arms. "Oh, and that's a nice coat, by the way! Did you buy it just now?"

"You got it!" Mars replied, content. "I really didn't _need_ it, but Kate insisted that she gift it to me anyway. Speaking of gifts, are you giving some to me as well?"

The three were standing right outside the department's front doors. The plan was that they would go shopping for some food for dinner. Although Mars had to admit that she was enjoying the trip back to Veilstone, and that she was even surprised to see that Galactic Energy Limited was also celebrating the season, she personally liked it better to stay at Floaroma and rest…

"What _exactly_ did you buy?" Mars asked.

Kellyn shrugged. "You'll find out when you get home. If you peek… that'll ruin the point."

"What point?" Mars and Kate said simultaneously.

Instead, Kellyn smiled and didn't say much. "You'll know when we get home."

In an instant, and as if they just realised it, the snow started to fall again on the Sinnoh region once more. Kellyn made a quick check on his Vatonage Styler for some quick news updates.

"Let's see… Snowpoint City is taking a crazy amount of snowfall," Kellyn reported. "Snow has been rising one metre in height per hour!"

"It's that bad, huh?" Mars remarked, with her eyebrows raised. "I'm so glad Veilstone is near the seaside… but there's still some snowfall here anyway."

Flakes of snow gently fell on their heads. They decided not to use a flying Pokémon to get back to Floaroma, seeing that there would be a lot of stress holding Pokémon, humans, and shopping goods combined. Nevertheless, it was getting a little dark.

* * *

**Route 215**

The main problem was that they would have to get back to Floaroma while the day was turning into dusk. Of course the north route bypassing Celestic Town and Eterna City was closer to Floaroma Town, but it also involved hiking the treacherous and foggy cliffs of Route 210, so they would have to use Route 209, and use the cycling path just outside Oreburgh City to get back to Floaroma.

"I suppose using a Doduo's agility wouldn't hurt…" Kate suggested, walking over to a few Doduo, aiming her Vatonage Styler, and captured them in the instant. "We can use the fourth one to carry our shopping stuff."

"Wait!" Mars piped. "What about Grotle? He can't ride on a Doduo, right?"

Kellyn and Kate looked at each other, smiling.

"A Staraptor should be able to get the job done," Kellyn said, in short. "If we do come across one in this weather, I'll capture it and Grotle will be flying to your doorstep in a few minutes. I just hope it'll be quick; we're all freezing."

* * *

**Hearthome City Centre**

No sooner was Grotle flying all the way back to Floaroma Town when the party started their journey back down Route 209. Fortunately, the Doduos' agility was precise enough to get the journey to Hearthome City done in ten minutes. While the Pachirisus were able to get a nice ride on the Rangers' shoulders, and Mars' Pokémon were still soundly resting at home, Kirlia would have to teleport constantly to catch up with the group.

However, it was only when Mars started to feel sorry for Kirlia did Kellyn come to his senses. He stopped halfway through Route 209, and allowed Kirlia to get a ride with him.

Upon approaching Hearthome City, the group slowed down significantly to gaze at what the city had been doing in preparation for Christmas: lights were hanging off trees and lampposts; the Contest Hall (where Mars' entertainment of choice was) had larger-than-life iconic Contest ribbons in Christmas colours of red, green, and white attached near the roof so the public could see.

_Wow… they did a lot of work to do this!_ Mars thought. _I guess I could do the same sometime!_

If it wasn't enough, the local Gym Leader Fantina had decorated her gym with outstanding spotlights, making the gym essentially the brightest building in the city (even from a distance). The idea that gentle snowflakes fell delicately in the city added to the stunning effect.

"You've got to admit, they're impressive!" Kate remarked. "I wonder if Eterna might have done the same, if you know what I mean."

Kellyn was about to reply when Mars excited said, "Oh wait! Oh wait! There's a contest shop over there! I want to see if I can get a nice scarf there!"

Without anything else to say, Mars dismounted from her Doduo (leaving it in Kate's hands) and went to look at the styles of scarfs on sale. Kellyn glanced at Kate, who grinned, and turned his head back to the happy Mars (who, in short, admired the simplicity of the scarfs, even if they had no pattern at all).

* * *

"Excuse me," a voice said beside Mars. "How much is this scarf?"

"One hundred Pokedollars. Buy two and get the third for half the price."

Mars raised her head. She knew where that voice came from, and the last time she heard it was over a year ago, and they were hostile enemies at the time. No doubt about it, it was Dawn Platinum.

She risked a quick glance at the girl beside her. No! It wasn't just Dawn (dressed in a red coat and white scarf), but Lucas Diamond was there as well, dressed in a red beret and blue jacket (in short, they were all dressed up for the season). What a coincidence…

"I'll take this one… and Lucas, which one would you like?" Dawn asked her friend.

"Whatever's fine with you," Lucas replied. "I'll be happy to try it out."

It didn't take long for Dawn to make her choices, and then she picked out a scarf. "Here Lucas, you try this one, and I'll try this one."

Mars secretly eyed the couple as Dawn put a scarf around Lucas' neck and then put one around her own neck. Looking at a mirror and contemplating, Dawn finally said, "Okay, I'll take these two."

"Two hundred Pokedollars," the shopkeeper said.

"I'll pay for it."

Dawn and Lucas stared at who said that.

_But – but it __**can't**__ be!_ Lucas thought, watching Mars, the very same Team Galactic's Mars whom he and Dawn had battled with at Stark Mountain, handing over payment of three hundred to the shopkeeper as she wrapped a scarf of her own around her neck. She gratefully accepted the change of fifty Pokedollars with a "Thank you."

"It's my gift to you," Mars said.

"Can we have a word with you?" Lucas said to Mars.

"Oh, sure," Mars replied, wrapping a red-and-white scarf around her neck. Turning to look at Kellyn and Kate, she mouthed "_Give me a minute._"

Kellyn and Kate raised puzzling looks, but not ones that looked as if they were suspicious. Instead they shrugged and engaged in a conversation. Mars on the other hand followed Dawn and Lucas somewhere else.

* * *

Near the scarf shop was a simple cafe. Lucas, surprised, calmly approached Mars as she bought a coffee for herself. To Lucas' further astonishment, Mars ended up buying two more drinks.

"Here's a hot chocolate for each of you, I'm having coffee," Mars said, passing the two cups to them before bringing her own hot drink up to her mouth.

Dawn and Lucas were speechless when Mars just _casually gave_ them the drinks. The most preposterous part was that she was even out in public! Was this even –

"Hold it," Lucas said suspiciously. "Who are you, and what have you done with Mars?"

"What?" Mars replied. "I _am_ Mars! Lucas, Dawn… it's been over a year since I've seen you!"

Dawn pinched herself, and Lucas stared. This _could not be Mars…_

"You're not dreaming…!" Mars sang. "Let's just say that things have changed a lot since Stark Mountain. You would not believe what I've been through, and while I'm at it, drink while they're still hot. This _is_ the winter, you know…"

Lucas was just drinking his hot chocolate as Dawn said, "Well this should be interesting, and how do we even know you're not a criminal? You're out in public… you're not wearing your Galactic uniform… and you actually have a lot of money even though HSBC should have locked your account!"

Mars showed them her Trainer and ID card as proof of innocence. If Lucas and Dawn couldn't get any more surprised they did. To Mars' amusement, Dawn pinched herself again and Lucas banged his head on the table.

"Hey, guys, control yourselves!" Mars laughed. "This is hilarious! Stop!"

But this didn't stop because the fact that they saw Mars giving a casual and happy laugh made Dawn and Lucas continue their actions even harder. So instead, Mars chose to give them a moment to settle down. While she was at it, she decided to show them her Gym Badges later.

Finally, Dawn and Lucas settled down.

"So… Mars," Lucas spoke up. "How'd exactly did you end up like this since Stark Mountain? The last time we met, you were a completely different person! You're not even the same violent person we remember…!"

"Lucas," Dawn cut in. "She wasn't that violent of a person from what I remember."

Mars drank her coffee and then set it down. "Well… I could tell you. It was a painful time for me, no doubt, and it only happened two weeks after Stark Mountain. I had a run-on with the International Police in the process."

"So what happened?" Dawn asked, forgetting about being surprised.

"It all started on Route 213. And the elite Pokémon Ranger Kellyn just so happened to run into me when I didn't know what to do…"

There, Mars began to tell her story of how she changed from an ex-Commander for Team Galactic all the way to being a Pokémon Trainer.

* * *

Kellyn and Kate started to get a little worried about Mars, and that she just 'disappeared'. Still, Kellyn trusted Mars that she could easily take care of herself.

"She's been gone for a while though," Kate checked her watch. "Do you think we should go and see how she's doing?"

"I'll give her ten more minutes," Kellyn replied. "We might be able to get back to Floaroma soon before twilight."

* * *

"…and that's what happened: the people of the Floaroma community were happy to for me to be a part of their neighbourhood. I never felt so happy," Mars finished.

There was a long moment of silence before Dawn smiled. "You know what Mars? You might be just as great as a person like Kellyn. He's right: you really are a great person, and you even made a living at Floaroma Town! No wonder we never heard about your capture!"

Mars grinned. "Thank you, Dawn."

"Speaking of making a living," Lucas said. "What have you been doing as a Pokémon Trainer?"

Mars passed her badges case for them to show her progress. Dawn opened the case and then showed them to Lucas, who grinned.

"I'm not surprised that you've gotten all the badges already except for the one at Snowpoint," Lucas complimented. "After all, this isn't really the season to do so."

"I know, I've seen the news report," Mars said. "Still, like I said, I'm running a berry farm. I sell the berries to the store quite often to make money. Anyway, now can I ask you something?"

Dawn and Lucas finished their drinks and nodded for Mars to speak.

"How have your lives been?"

Now it was Mars' turn to be surprised when Dawn laughed. "Well… Lucas and I have been 'dating' ever since he brought up the subject of you. You remember the days back at Jubilife City? You called us a 'lovey-dovey couple'. Lucas asked me out for dinner a month after Stark Mountain."

"Basically," Lucas said. "You're to blame; it's your fault that I asked Dawn for a date."

Mars blushed in spite of the falling snow, and then checked her Pokétch watch. "Whoa! It's late! I better get going."

She got up and helped throw Lucas' and Dawn's cups into the trash before throwing her own. Lucas and Dawn were nonetheless impressed by Mars' good manners.

"I think I could get used to the different you," Lucas said.

"A different Mars… that anyone could be easily friends with," Dawn added. "Compared with all the other Galactic Commanders we battled with: you seemed to be the only one who was reluctant about it."

Mars, before beginning to walk away, said, "I'm holding a dinner at my place tonight. Do you think you could spare some time to help me cook?"

Dawn and Lucas looked at each other for a moment before they said, "Of course we could!"

"Thanks, and Merry Christmas!" Mars waved them goodbye.

"And Merry Christmas to you!" Dawn waved, and Lucas did likewise.

Finally, Mars began to walk back to Kellyn and Kate, but not before wrapping her scarf a little more tightly around her neck as the night started to make the temperature a lot colder.

* * *

**Read and review! If you've read up to here, then congratulations! More to come... or you can at least favourite this story if you like it...**


	3. Christmas Memories

**Thanks to RosaMeiWhite2 for the encouragement!**

* * *

**Hearthome City**

"Where have you been?!" Kate shouted. "There's more than enough damage letting us know that you'd be gone for a minute but still…"

Mars wanted to say something, but Kellyn beat her to it.

"You could have at least told us in advance to where you were going," Kellyn said. "What were you doing exactly?"

"I was… settling…" Mars had to think of careful words. "I was settling some amends with old enemies. I suppose you'll see them tonight. That reminds me, while we're at Eterna, I'm going to order some houseplants for my house."

Kirlia did a twirl around the café right before teleporting beside Kellyn and Kate.

_To think we still have to do a walk to the cycling road and then we would have to bypass Eterna City…_ Mars thought. _I can't wait to get home._

* * *

**Mount Coronet: twilight**

It was dark enough outside and was even darker inside Mount Coronet but at the very least was visible. Over the years that the mountain path had been founded, the Sinnoh Region had done its part to develop the road connecting Oreburgh and Hearthome City. What Mars found satisfying was that the mountain was much warmer inside than outside, and it was still snowing.

"Thanks for keeping a Doduo for me, guys," Mars said with gratitude. "I thought that Rangers would have to release a Pokémon right after use?"

Kate said, as if it were obvious. "You're not done with Doduo, though."

The only sounds that could be heard were the stepping of the Doduos and occasional water drops from the ceiling above. It didn't take long before the Doduos were climbing up some steps to the high ground before climbing down again.

"Oh! Look, Mars! Even in here, the water's frozen!" Kate exclaimed, pointing to the water. Even Kellyn was a little interested and, getting off Doduo, tapped the frozen water.

"It's still a little thin…" he said. Mars tapped it as well.

"But all the same," Mars added. "It must be real cold right now. Say, Kellyn, could we check out how heavy is the snowfall?"

* * *

**Route 207**

Although it was getting a lot darker than before, the moonlight gave a luminescent reflection off the large flakes of snow that were falling rapidly on Sinnoh. Better yet was that there was still some glimmers of sunlight in the horizon. Had the snow not been so heavy, Mars would have enjoyed looking at the scenery she was seeing right now a bit longer. Unfortunately, the temperature kept on dropping.

With cliffs of stone blocking out many hopes of either moonlight or sunlight, it was considerably cold. Mars had a thought that the cycling road to Route 206 may have been closed. However, she was much more distracted by her cold hands and feet, and the snow falling on her head didn't help.

"Brr…! How _can_ you guys stand up to a coldness like this?!" Mars said as she shivered.

"We – we don't," Kate said, shivering as well.

The most unfortunate were the Pachirisus. As they were easily the smallest among the group, to them the temperature was much colder to them. But overall, everyone was cold.

"Ugh… there's still some distance to make before we can get to Floaroma," Mars complained, bypassing the air-exchanging vents. "But at least we can take a break at Eterna City for a little bit."

Kellyn and Kate simultaneously agreed. The group still had a massive amount of distance to cover, and that the Eterna Forest predictably wasn't going to be pleasant with all the snow blanketing the region. There was even a possibility they could get lost…

"We're Pokémon Rangers," Kellyn said, and Kate nodded. "We can do it."

* * *

**Route 206**

Upon arriving at the checkpoint to the cycling road, Mars and the others were briefly welcomed by the comforting warmth of indoors. For Mars, she spent the better of the time warming her hands and drying off her coat as well as her scarf near the heater.

"I suppose that the Staraptor carrying Grotle could take care of itself?" Kate asked. "The Doduos will have to be released while we're here, so therefore we're going to have to carry the shopping bags ourselves from here on in."

"Unfortunately yes," Kellyn replied. "I have no doubt though that the Staraptor and Grotle will be fine. I'm surprised that we could actually find one in the winter! Lucky for Grotle: he doesn't like the cold much, even though he's been through worse in places like Shiver Camp."

While that was going on, Mars quietly released the Doduos back into the wild, and then she went back to warm up her hands once more. Kellyn went over to her and held out a hand, which Mars took hold of.

"You know, Mars, you're freezing," Kellyn stated, retreating his hand as if it had instantly died. "How did you end up so cold?"

"I think it's because she didn't buy gloves," Kate guessed. "Okay, how about we teleport to the other checkpoint instead?"

She patiently waited for Kellyn to finish warming Mars' hands, and in the same way Kirlia wanted Kate to warm hers as well. So Kate ended up warming Kirlia's hands.

"Kirlia! Your hands are so cold!" Kate said, rubbing Kirlia's hands with her own. It honestly felt like all heat was being drained from Kate, but still Kate held Kirlia's hands firmly. The Pokémon was definitely feeling better before Kate said, "Come on, we'll go to the heater."

In the end, Kirlia shared the heater with Mars, while the two Pokémon Rangers waited for them to finish. At least Kellyn could do some planning ahead.

"Kirlia, do you think you could teleport all of us across the cycling road?" Kellyn asked.

She hesitated, considering if she could actually manage all the amount of people to teleport. Then again, it was just Mars, Kate and her Pachirisu. In the past when she worked tirelessly alongside Kellyn, she had to teleport him with at least three other Pokémon, if not counting Grotle and Pachirisu. Finally, Kirlia decided that it was safe, and she nodded. So there, after a few more minutes, she gathered and grouped everyone and focused her psychic power and, in Kirlia's mind, pinpointed where exactly to go: through the cold and to the next checkpoint…

FWMMM

A split second warp was active before everyone landed gently on the floor of the next checkpoint. Dressed warmly and firmly in a scarf and a fine coat, Mars marched outside of the checkpoint to meet the cold once more. Now that it was even colder than before, she became completely aware that the weather was turning into utter darkness. If they didn't return to Floaroma by now… it would be painful.

* * *

**Eterna City**

Eventually, the party ended up bypassing the checkpoint and into the historic city centre of Eterna. Likewise to other cities, they decorated the area to celebrate the Christmas season; they hung bright lights on trees and additionally to Mars' somewhat pleasant surprise: the old Galactic Building at the northern end was restored; also having a fully decorated Christmas tree on the front lawn. To Mars, it looked like an old and familiar Christmas carol…

_Of course,_ Mars suddenly remembered. _Mars isn't my codename, but… I've had that name before… for a long time._

* * *

**_It only happened when Mars was a very little child._**

"_Mars? Merry Christmas," said her mother, finally uncovering Mars' eyes._

_Her Glameow let out a happy purr before Mars actually saw what she was seeing: her mother was showing Mars a breathtaking sight of her hometown in an incredible brilliance of lights, fires, and art. An echoing and light tone of music wafted through the air and Mars could hear it. Even better was a massively decorated tree in the centre._

_It was nighttime, and that was how all the lights perfectly complemented every tiny bit of the dark sky. It was as if the town had lightened up in the darkness._

"_Well? What do you think of it, Mars?" her mother asked, looking down at her little daughter._

"_Wow, mommy! This is really cool! Did you do this yourself?" a little Mars happily exclaimed._

"_Your father and I did it together," Mars' mom explained. "It was just the tree, but the whole town agreed to help decorate the place."_

_Mars jumped up and down and hugged her Glameow. "Wow! Thanks mom! I love it!"_

_Her parents kneeled down to hug Mars as well. It was true that the town was celebrating Christmas, but Mars' parents worked twice as hard because their daughter was about to experience it for the first time. Now, they were entirely satisfied that Mars was content like a Teddiursa._

"_Oh, and one more thing… Mars," her mother said, giving her a little paper basket._

_Curious, Mars opened the basket and to her delight, it was filled with large and colourful shortbread cookies; each topped with icings of colours like red, blue, and orange. A diamond-like sprinkle was encrusted on each cookie, and they were actually candies!_

"_Wow…! Thank you, mommy!" Mars looked up at her mother, who smiled warmly._

"_It's my treat," she said back. "You haven't had them for years, so I decided to bake some."_

_Smiling as wide as she could, Mars reached in to happily eat a cookie._

* * *

"Hey, Mars? You okay?"

Mars snapped back to reality and looked at Kellyn. "Uh… yeah! Of course."

Kate gently nudged Mars on the elbow. "It's already nightfall. We seriously _don't_ want to stay in this cold for too long, do we?"

Unfortunately for Kate, Mars was feeling cold once more and from the looks of her she was getting really tired. Luckily, a nearby café was at the edge of Eterna City, so they went to take their break there. Kellyn went to buy mochas this time, as they would need to get a motivation boost before they ventured into the forest anyway. The three made the choice to sit down on the cold chairs to quickly drink the mochas. It was a good thing that the mochas were much hotter than they thought (at the point where it nearly burned Kate's hands), because the temperature they were facing was going to be an obstacle, and they still needed to tackle the Eterna Forest!

"When do you think we should start?" Kellyn asked, as he was gave Kirlia and Pachirisu some sips of his mocha. "I'm not fond of walking through dark and cold forests."

Mars and Kate looked at each for a second before Mars said, "I suppose now."

* * *

**Like the story? Then keep on reading. There's more to come!**


	4. The Journey Back: Joy

**It's almost Christmas (just under a month away) and I'd like to wish my readers Merry Christmas!**

* * *

**Route 205**

Upon walking the road to Eterna Forest, Mars and the others were walking across a wooden walkway made simply of strengthened and tightened wood. The miniature lake they were passing had its surface entirely frozen by the freezing temperature. Kellyn and Kate couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for the Pokémon that resided underneath that surface.

"Give me a second, and hold my Pachirisu for me" Kate said, giving Kellyn her Partner Pokémon, and Mars and Kellyn waited in the cold for her to finish what she wanted to do. Kate apparently was clearing away some snow and brushing the surface of the ice.

"Hurry up, Kate!" Mars shouted, although her voice was muffled a bit by the snow. "It's getting _really_ dark now!"

She got no response from the Ranger, as she was busy trying to break the ice bit by bit. Since Kate was wearing gloves, she got the work done even faster by pounding on the ice (obviously using her fingers would have been much colder as they were fingerless gloves). After what felt like ten minutes, Kate had finally made an opening in the ice.

"There we go," she said proudly. "Now the Pokémon will have a place to breathe."

"But how do you know they'll use it?" Mars asked, looking oddly at the small crack Kate had made. Instead, Kate shook her head.

CRACK. A Magikarp popped out of the lake. CRACK. Another one followed.

Mars watched before her eyes that many Magikarp were bursting through the ice now, and now that she thought of it the ice was getting a little thinner…

"I'll take Pachirisu back," Kate said, without having to ask Kellyn.

Mars led the way into Eterna Forest. With enough hope the moonlight would be able to give some means of vision, and in her heart Mars hoped that the sun could stay _just_ a minute longer.

* * *

**Eterna Forest: night**

Unfortunately, and against Mars' and Kellyn's hopes, the night had turned into pitch-black darkness. While a sliver of moonlight illuminated and reflected off the tons of snow in the snow therefore giving some means of visibility, the trees were more than enough to make the place too dark.

It was unwelcoming. Period.

"Okay," Mars said. "First of all, I have no idea where we are going. Second, I can't tell where we are going. Third, I'm tired. Fourth, WE ARE LOST…!"

It certainly did not help Kate, Kellyn, the Pachirisus, and Kirlia at all Mars was complaining so much. For Kate, the worst part being that while Mars was being a temporary irritant, and Kellyn had a small discomfort walking in a darkened forest, she was the only one who could carry the shopping bags. The hardest part was trying to keep them dry. However, they only went as far as the Old Chateau…

"Say, Mars, have you ever been to the Old Chateau?" Kellyn asked, eyeing the ancient establishment from across.

Mars flinched, and then felt as if a shiver went down her spine. "I've heard a rumour from the Eterna Gym Leader Gardenia that the Chateau is haunted. No one except those who dare wants to go there, especially at night…

She looked at Kellyn and Kate uncomfortably, where their faces were only so visible. "Can we keep going? It's so dark…"

The Rangers' Pachirisus provided some light for the party to temporarily use. To aid Mars' comfort just a little bit, Kate showed her Vatonage Styler to Mars.

"You see? We have maps and grids equipped in our Stylers," Kate explained. "There's no need for us to be lost, and I'm sure you have been through worse than just a silly forest."

* * *

However, as the three were walking through the dark forest with the sounds of crunching snow beneath them, they felt an uncomfortable presence near them.

"Did you feel that?" Kellyn said suddenly. "You see? This is why I don't like dark forests too much… it's frightening."

"I didn't feel anything," Kate said.

"Nor did I," Mars added.

Kellyn looked around the area, and being a Ranger he knew that someone or something was following them. He just needed to know who…

_I think I'll just keep walking,_ he thought, following Mars.

* * *

Kirlia was bored to a point where she simply wanted to teleport _somewhere_, but if she did she would not imagine where. The forest was dark… and she couldn't help remembering back in the days in Almia, in the Chroma Ruins. It was even darker in there, and that was where Kellyn rescued her…

"You alright there, Kirlia?" Kellyn asked, looking at his Partner Pokémon in a strange way.

Kirlia nodded, and then she jumped to Kellyn and hugged him.

"Oh, Kirlia…" he smiled, knowing what Kirlia was thinking and hugged her back. "No need to thank me. You could have gotten out of the Ruins yourself, right?"

Kirlia then hugged Pachirisu, and she seemed satisfied before she nodded to Kellyn again.

"Oh! The sky sure is beautiful…" Kate dreamily said, looking up.

Mars, Kellyn, and his Pokémon did the same and could not help but agree. Although it was incredibly dark, the slivers of moonlight illuminated the falling snow, which in turn dimly lit up the sky. It was breathtaking… to see calming snow fall…

Even Kirlia, who was formerly bored, finally had something to do: stay still and watch the continuing snowfall. She was fine until…

"Can we go?" Mars interrupted, wrapping her scarf around her mouth and nose. "My nose is getting _really_ cold."

* * *

They silently walked through the forest. To Mars, she felt like she forgot how cold the winters of Sinnoh were. Kellyn and Kate, on the other hand, were just fine.

"How _do_ you keep walking like that?!" Mars repeated her question back in Route 207. "Okay, Kate, I know you told me that you 'don't' get used to the cold, but you Rangers seriously don't need coats or something…"

Kellyn, Kate, and Kirlia kept walking to keep warm. Mars caught wind that they were much farther ahead of her so she had to run to catch up.

"So?"

"You can say we're used to it," Kellyn replied. "Back at Shiver Camp and Almia Castle, Kate and I faced colder than this."

He looked back. _Someone is definitely following us._

* * *

The feeling finally got to Kellyn before he yelled, "Alright! Where are you?!"

"Kellyn, what are you doing?" Kate asked, as if worried about his sanity. "Seriously, we've told you already that nothing is following us."

Mars smacked Kellyn's head. "Maybe the cold is getting to you. Heh, so much for Rangers getting used to the cold."

"I'm telling you I can feel something following us!" he protested.

Kate shrugged and walked through the next stretch of forest. The darkness didn't help, and although there were signs posted in several remote places in Eterna Forest, there were no lights. Kate felt like they picked a wrong time to venture into the forest.

And then Kate looked up ahead; she screamed.

"What?! What is it Kate!" Kellyn and Mars said together, rushing to her.

They found Kate collapsed on the snow, and it wasn't just her who was frightened: her Pachirisu was also lying on the snow. Mars went to help Kate up, while Kellyn immediately took Kate's Pachirisu in his hands to see how he was doing.

Kirlia went into a fighting stance; preparing to defend her friends. Kellyn alternatively armed his Vatonage Styler to remain on the defensive.

_Who…?!_ Kellyn thought. If it was anyone trying to pull tricks –

In an instant, a Rotom appeared in front of his face.

"AGH!" Kellyn screamed, and jumped back. He aimed his Styler shouting, "Capture On!"

* * *

The Capture Disc blasted away from Kellyn's Vatonage Styler and soared straight for the Rotom. Kellyn swung his two fingers sideways and likewise the Capture Disc zipped sideways; following this was a constant encirclement of the Rotom.

However, Rotom retaliated by unexpectedly unleashing an electric current to safeguard itself. Kirlia, knowing she had to help, powered up the Vatonage Styler with psychic power. Unfortunately, her psychic ability to attack a Ghost Pokémon was rather limited, and yet Kellyn had more trouble trying to locate the Rotom in the dark.

"Come on!" Kellyn shouted, frustrated. "You can't hide forever!"

As if in response, the Rotom appeared from behind and gave Kellyn a good zap. As expected (at least for Rotom) Kellyn fell onto the snow, but he quickly got up and brushed the snow off him. The Capture Disc did not stop spinning, which suited the Ranger just fine.

"Kirlia! Once more!" Kellyn ordered, pointing directly at Rotom.

Kirlia focused energy into the Vatonage Styler once more, and at the same time Kellyn simultaneously brought the Capture Disc to circle Rotom again. Confused, Rotom gave up.

"Capture complete!" Kellyn cheered, returning his Capture Disc back to his Styler.

* * *

The Rotom had more or less revealed that it was simply playing tricks on the party, and was even overjoyed to see their reactions. Kellyn shook his head and released Rotom back into the wild.

"You're overreacting, Kellyn," Kate commented. "You could have at least ensured that it really was a Pokémon before you went and captured it."

Mars added, "It's true!"

"But I…"

"Exactly," Kate finished, and as a punishment for Kellyn she threw a snowball at his head (SMACK), which the snowball burst into little fragments.

"I guess I deserved –" Kellyn started, but yet another snowball smashed at his head, this time was thrown by Mars.

SMACK

He crippled to the ground right after.

"_I guess I deserved that too…_" he whispered, miserably wiping off the wet snow from his hair and face. Mars and Kate, meanwhile, gave each other high-fives.

* * *

Kellyn and Kate had completely forgotten what it felt like to have mass amounts of snow falling, as a dense cloud descended into the forest, and there was absolutely no hope of vision. Hopefully, they would be able to make it out.

Snow fell in clumps and no sooner did the threesome's hair become considerably wet.

"Atchoo!" Mars sneezed. "I think I need to cook some soup when I get back."

Mars did take time to realise that many of the trees in Eterna Forest were missing leaves (so Mars deduced that they were deciduous), while the majority of trees were evergreens. Overall, they were completely covered in snow, branches included.

On the brighter side, the weather did the group a huge favour by half-burying nearly all the incoming tall grass in snow. All they had to do was push away the remaining upper halves of the grass and thing progressed much faster.

"I never recalled ever seeing Eterna Forest from so high up," Mars said. "This is pretty cool!"

"You mean you've never walked in here at winter before?" Kate asked, surprised.

"Hey, Kate, I've lived in Floaroma for only a year," Mars said in her own defence. "While I was doing that I never had time to cross the forest!"

* * *

By the time Mars and the Rangers approached the final section of Eterna Forest, a sight in front of them was enough to stop them: a fallen tree had collapsed onto the snow. It wasn't an old tree, since the tree was no bigger than Mars by two feet nor it appeared the tree was dying and judging by the pines, Mars determined this was an evergreen. Somehow, a nearby group of Nincada had been slicing away at this unfortunate tree's base for practice and managed to uproot the entire tree. Now that they were done, they went on their business.

What was really surprising was that, apart from the slicing it received and a few missing roots, the tree appeared to be in good shape.

"I don't know, Kate…" Mars said to her. "It kind of makes me a little sad to leave the tree abandoned here…"

"So why don't we save it?" Kellyn happily asked, knowing what Mars had in mind.

* * *

**Route 205: night**

So only five minutes later, Kate and Kellyn were effortlessly dragging a tree behind them. It was very fortunate that the tree wasn't so heavy and it wasn't tall either. Mars, in turn, carried the shopping bags and amusingly watched the Rangers drag the weight. At this point, they had exited the Eterna Forest and began their final home stretch back to Floaroma Town, preparing to pass the Valley Windworks en route.

"Do you guys need a hand?" Mars asked, feeling somewhat guilty that they were dragging a tree and she was holding the shopping bags.

"I think we can handle it," Kate replied. "After all, the shopping bags are just as heavy. Say! Why don't you get Kirlia to help you?"

It didn't take long before Kirlia had teleported right beside Mars and took one of the shopping bags. Right after that, the four were slowly walking through the snow-covered route. Mounds and mounds of snow had stockpiled on every section of the route, and by the looks of it the tall grass was completely covered up. Mars guessed that the Pokémon that resided there were hibernating, save for a few who could withstand the cold.

"I can't see a thing…" Mars complained. "But we're almost there."

She and Kirlia walk down some brushed steps to lower ground, and Kellyn and Kate followed her carrying the tree. The darkness began thoroughly enclosing all of Sinnoh, and the moonlight was covered up by thick clouds of snow.

In fact the snow had amassed to a point where what used to be low ground had become level with the high ground. All Mars and the Rangers needed to do was 'walk' right into the low ground, and they continued to pass a set of air-exchanging vents not unlike those found at Route 207. To Mars' surprise, it appeared that the Floaroma Township had bothered to keep the vents maintained by cleaning off the snow.

_My hands are so cold…_ Mars thought. _I can't wait to get home._

Kellyn and Kate helped each other lower the tree onto the snow and they began sliding it down the bank. Mars went ahead with Kirlia towards the lights of the Valley Windworks, whose giant wind turbines were visible and lit up by miniature spotlights. Given that it was visible, Mars and Kirlia could also see that they were still moving in spite of the added weight by the snow. Then again, Floaroma Town needed its energy supply.

"We're getting closer," Mars said, relieved, trudging through the snow. "How are you guys holding up with that tree?"

Kate shouted first. "We're doing fine! Keep going!"

But as soon as they approached the bridge across the Windworks the Rangers got exhausted. Kate was first to drop the tree since she held the top, and Kellyn followed by dropping the roots.

"Okay…! Time for a break!" Kellyn breathed, collapsing onto the snow.

"Aw…. Kellyn! Kate!" Mars protested. "I'm freezing! We're so close to Floraroma! Fine! I'll give you a –"

But she was interrupted by the sound of dropping bags. Mars whipped around to see Kirlia dash over to the frozen river (not really a river, more like a chasm). Interested at what Kirlia wanted to do, Mars decided to sit down with Kellyn and Kate.

Kirlia looked over at the edge of the ice. No, it was too dark to see her reflection, but she chose to take one step onto the ice. Although she had no experience with walking on ice, she might be able to put it into some use…

Quickly, Kirlia forced herself forward and began sliding on the ice, effectively skating. As dancing was part of her nature, she found it much more relaxing to do some. Kirlia dashed forward, leapt and did a series of spins in midair.

"I never knew Kirlia was _that_ great of a dancer," Mars commented.

"Really?!" Kate stared at Mars. "She _loves_ it!"

A cloud parted and a glimpse of moonlight shone on some parts of the Sinnoh region, that including Route 205. Now, Mars could see what Kirlia was actually doing.

Kirlia swung her arms side to side attempting to gain speed, and jumped; simultaneously she did an incredible backflip in the cold air and landed on the ice, maintaining her balance upon landing.

A round of polite applause came from Mars, Kellyn, and Kate.

Now she skated in the direction towards the bank, spinning counter-clockwise several times as she did, while preparing to do yet another leap in the air. This time, Kirlia ended up doing a front flip and she nearly stumbled on the ice, but she made it useful by falling on the ice. Sliding forward, she recovered by spinning sideways and back on her feet. Right after that, she skated backward to spin in the air again.

To top it all, she curled up in one spot and spun rapidly on that one spot. The group watched open-and-wide-eyed at how powerful Kirlia's dance techniques were, as she had been spinning for at least fifteen seconds.

And finally, she blasted into the air: finishing her performance with a D-spin (where her entire body moves to trace out a 'D' in the air, whilst spinning the entire time. It also includes spinning upside-down) and then landed solidly on the ice. Afterwards, she bowed in front of Kellyn, Kate, and Mars.

"Yeah! Well done, Kirlia!" Kellyn shouted.

"Woo!" Kate shouted, and Mars whistled loudly. Kirlia could not help but feel flattered, and she bowed once more before skating to the bank. Mars went up to her, shaking Kirlia's hand, and that was when Mars realised how cold it was.

"Kirlia! You're even colder than me!" Mars said in surprise. "Come on, let's go back to my house, I'll fix up a hot chocolate for you."

Kirlia looked at Mars in the eyes with a great smile.


	5. Christmas in Floaroma

**This is the longest chapter of the entire story!**

* * *

**Floaroma Town: night**

They arrived at Floaroma to see completely covered fields of snow and snow-covered deciduous trees. Mars' Purugly led the group into the town. Mars looked at the town like she did the earlier morning, it looked just a peaceful as before, with beautifully frozen flowers.

"Before we actually head back to your home," Kellyn said. "I need to get to the postal office. I need to do some mailing."

He, Pachirisu, and Grotle went ahead to enter the post office (Kirlia waited outside with Kate and Mars), welcoming the bit of warmth the building offered, and talked to the attendant on duty.

"I'd like to deliver some gifts," Kellyn said, taking out the dessert cookbook and mini book light he had purchased much earlier at Veilstone City. He placed the items on the counter in front. "Could you deliver these to this address?"

The attendant looked at the address, and her eyes lit up. "You're from Almia?"

"It's possible," Kellyn said, with obvious humour. "I could have relatives in Almia and live in Sinnoh."

"Nah, you've got a Styler on your arm," the attendant pointed at the equipment on Kellyn's right wrist. "By the looks of it, you're a Pokémon Ranger."

She was halfway wrapping the gifts when she said, "Would you like to write a card too?"

* * *

"That would be nice," Kellyn agreed.

Thirty seconds later after Kellyn went to select his favourite card design. He began to write.

_Dear Little Sis, and mom,_

_I'm still off in Sinnoh for now, and I'm sorry that I can't celebrate Christmas this year with you guys. But I have a good reason to do so! I wanted to meet with a friend of mine here, and she seemed quite alone… but at least I could get the pleasure of sending you gifts! My heart goes with it._

_Love,_

_Kellyn (Big Brother)_

Kellyn folded the card and put it into an envelope, along with writing the mailing address to his home in Almia. He paid the sufficient amount of money needed and put some stamps on. Pachirisu clapped his little hands in celebration, and Kellyn left the building with a sense of joy.

* * *

"Finally home," Mars stated, relieved and taking off her black cashmere coat, once again in her casual clothes of a red sweater and black dress.

It only felt like a few hours ago that she had left Floaroma for Veilstone, and clearly that didn't seem like the case, as it was very dark and snow had piled up in front of Mars' house again. Fortunately, her berry garden and trees were surviving somehow. However, there was still a considerable amount of snow blocking a quarter of the doorway, so Kirlia and Purugly worked together to clear it.

With the tree finally arriving at Mars' home, Kellyn and Kate set about digging a hole through the snow, and hoping to hit the grass beneath. Mars herself couldn't really help out, but she sent out her Kangaskan to give some assistance.

"I'll be inside to make Kirlia a hot chocolate," Mars called to the Rangers. "Kirlia, would you like to come with me?"

No sooner did Kirlia warp right behind Mars and dashed into her house. Since the doorway was blocked by snow, Kirlia teleported and the two excitedly ran inside. Meanwhile, Kangaskan was digging up large amounts of snow from the area, and essentially dug out a small crater at the front of the house.

"I see the ground," Kate breathed, looking at the bottom.

"But then we're going to have to re-bury the ground with snow again," Kellyn complained, now that he thought of it. "It's going to be embarrassing for Mars to see such a scene."

"Enough with that talk, Kellyn," Kate cut him off. "For her, it'll be worth it."

* * *

The warmth of indoors could not have been any more welcoming as opposed to the bitter and dark cold from outside. To Mars and Kirlia, it was possibly the best feeling in the world. Kirlia sat on the low sofa sipping her hot drink. Additionally, she was surprised, to see Grotle already resting on the low sofa upon her arrival. Now that she arrived, Grotle woke up. Kirlia greeted her co-partner with a friendly wave.

"Here you go, Grotle," Mars cheerfully said, putting a second mug of hot chocolate in front of him. "I'm glad to see you're awake. You've survived that long journey halfway across the region, so here's a treat for you!"

Grotle sniffed at the hot drink before cautiously taking sips out of it. Mars felt quite relaxed and went on to prepare dinner. Meanwhile, Kate walked into the house holding a bag.

"Kate! I thought you were helping Kellyn with the tree!" Mars said, staring at Kate with wide-open eyes.

"We're getting there," Kate replied, putting the bag into Mars' arms. "Kellyn wanted you to take these first."

Before Mars could say anything, Kate and her Pachirisu were on their way outside to help Kellyn with the tree again. She sighed and sat down on the low sofa.

_I might as well look at what's inside,_ Mars thought, as she reached in to grab what was inside. It felt like a box, and when she pulled it out and set it on the table, she shook her head.

_Aw, Kellyn, you really didn't have to_, she thought, looking at the box of delicately designed chocolates. _I'll eat some later._

She felt overwhelmed. First, Kellyn went to the extent of buying her a lot of things, and then Kate insisted on buying clothes for her. Why did they have to be so nice?! Mars set the chocolates on a side counter and went right back to the kitchen to start cooking.

"Oh _Mars…!_" Kate's voice from outside came. "You ought to take a look at the tree now!"

The cooking had a lot of waiting time, so Mars walked past her living room to outside. Her Purugly decided to follow her as well. Just as she was heading out the door into the cold, she glimpsed Grotle and Kirlia happily finishing their hot chocolate and went to rest.

* * *

The tree that was planted a while ago was now standing tall, but that wasn't really the entire reason why Mars was so surprised: the tree was decorated completely with golden-yellow lights that twinkled from top to bottom. It was a sight to marvel in the cold and dark night.

"Merry Christmas, Mars," Kellyn stated.

Mars wanted to speak, but she was interrupted by Kate, who said, "That's not the end of it. Turn around and look!"

A flash of light came from behind Mars, and she turned around to look, even though she was still surprised. Mars and Purugly gaped in awe at the two-storey house which had golden-yellow lights on every edge of the house. Now her house was just as bright as any other in Floaroma.

_Wow…_ Mars thought, although she struggled to even think. Words failed her.

"Wow… you know, you Rangers really know how to flatter people," Mars complimented, with a tiny bit of sarcasm. "What would happen, if I took advantage of that?"

"I know you, Mars," Kellyn replied, grinning. "You're too nice a person to do such a thing. Besides, let's just say it's a Quest in our career."

Kellyn watched Mars rush over to the tree until she was only a metre's distance away and gaze up at it. Kate and Kellyn walked over there and sat down a fair distance from Mars' back. Mars herself was still marvelling at the sight of such a luminous tree, and spent more time gazing at lights that constantly faded and twinkled back to life.

"By the way, how are Grotle and Kirlia doing?"

"They're enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate, and they're definitely tired," Mars reported. "I'll go wake them up when dinner is ready."

And then Mars slapped her forehead, which prompted Kellyn, Kate, and their Pachirisus to raise their eyebrows at her.

"Oh, no, dinner! I forgot I left the oven on!"

Hastily returning Kangaskan to her Poké Ball, and calling Purugly to follow her, she rushed right back in to her house. Kellyn and Kate laughed a little bit as they followed Mars in.

* * *

Within the hour, Mars was busy preparing the food for that night. Kellyn and Kate alone knew that Mars couldn't handle the cooking alone, so they helped her out. Before they could, though, Mars' Marill walked in their direction dragging some towels. The Rangers wiped their hair (to Kate's amusement, Kellyn was wiping the back of his hair and then the spike part of his hair was flattened, so Kellyn had to fix it).

"Remember we're going to have a lot more people than just us, including the Pokémon," Mars reminded, making and tossing leaflets of salad with grated cheese. "I need vinaigrette."

Kellyn handed the glass bottle over to her and continued working on the wheat pasta, cooking it with a blend of sauces, including half a Tamato berry. He set about putting it to a boil and stirred the pasta the way he liked it.

Kate went on to prepare a recipe with the use of vegetables. It was supposed to be stew, but to her she didn't seem to understand how it worked. Fortunately, Kirlia was there to help her out. The Pokémon read Kate's thoughts and tried frantically to explain how the recipe worked. As a veteran Pokémon Ranger, it didn't take long for Kate to know what Kirlia was getting at.

"What? This is the recipe that Kellyn's mom uses?" Kate said, surprised. "Kellyn! How did you bring this all the way from Almia?!"

"Oh, just treat it as a shopping list, Kate," Kellyn casually said. "If you don't hurry or keep stirring that stew, you're going to burn it."

It was at that moment did Kate smell a burning odour. She turned to the stew, alarmed.

"No, no, no!" Kate screamed.

Kellyn and Mars, let alone Kirlia, went back to their respective jobs at cooking. But each sneaked a laugh at Kate anyway, and they knew Kate would get the stew fixed in no time. Kellyn was still in the process of cooking the pasta, and after Mars was finished with the salad she went on to boil a large portion of field mushroom soup.

Kate and Kirlia, after cooking the stew, finally emptied the steaming hot contents into a large bowl. It was soon carried out to the living room table.

Suddenly, Mars felt like there were going to be _too_ many people coming! She counted: if the Pokémon were exempt, there would be five people eating. That was good, and then she wondered if Dawn and Lucas would be coming at all…

"Hey, Mars, it's time to bring the food out," Kellyn reminded, which snapped Mars back to reality. Kate and Kirlia had already walked back into the kitchen, ready to take the pasta into the living room. Mars still had to finish making the mushroom soup.

"I'll prepare the cutlery," Kate offered.

"Oh, and grab two more sets, please. We might have guests coming," Mars called out.

Kate nodded and went for the cutlery. Kellyn, at the same time, picked up the plate of pasta with Kirlia (as Kate was going to do cutlery, so he took her place). Mars pondered a moment if she wanted to make dessert, but she decided not to unless anyone else wanted it.

Knock. Knock.

"I'll get it," Mars shouted. "Kate! Could you set the mushroom soup for me?"

Kate rushed back into the kitchen as Mars passed her on her way to the door. It wasn't long before Mars was facing the front door. She reached for the doorknob and opened it for her guests.

"Oh, hey! Dawn! Lucas! Merry Christmas!" Mars warmly greeted.

Dawn greeted Mars with a hug, and Lucas did likewise.

"I'm overwhelmed Mars: to think that you really meant it when you said you live in a house!" Lucas said, smiling. "Say, isn't that Kellyn over there?"

Kellyn waved at Lucas, although sheepishly since he didn't know Lucas that well. Dawn walked right in and took off her shoes so that they could dry off. Looking at Mars, she asked if they could be of any help to cook dinner.

"No, it's alright, the Rangers helped out with the cooking," Mars replied. "Still, there's a lot of food, so could you do me a _teensy_ little favour and eat with us?"

Dawn laughed. "I thought you said that already!"

She and Lucas walked into Mars' house, and it was then did Lucas say, "I'm craving pizza."

"Pizza?!" Dawn shouted. "I don't think now would be the time to eat one –"

"It's alright, Dawn," Mars cut in the middle of Dawn's words. "I'll be happy to bake one. Could you help me with the cooking?"

Dawn nodded. Lucas set his beret on the bench near the door and went to join the Rangers in conversation. Before she went to close the door, Mars snuck a glimpse at the Christmas tree again, with its radiance shining against her once more. It gave Mars the same warm and fuzzy feeling she first had when she was a little girl…

"Mars! The dough is being prepared!" Dawn called out. "Tell me what you would like on it!"

Mars sighed, and closed the door. She knew she felt a lot more different than the earlier morning, where she would do nothing but try to stay at home, but now that there was a bright tree in front of her home, she somehow felt a lot warmer.

* * *

A plate of hot pizza topped with spinach, mushrooms, and golden-brown cheese was laid out on the table beside the salad, soup, pasta, and stew; each seasoned with spices. The plate, in spite of its massive size, was carried out single-handedly by Dawn alone. Lucas and Kellyn looked at it with anticipation.

"Ooh… it looks so good!" Lucas said. "Could I eat it right now?"

Lucas raised his hands, but Kellyn raised his hands also in response to Lucas.

"First…" Kellyn said. "We need to give thanks. That would be proper."

Everyone in the room fell silent, with everyone closing their eyes, and waited for Kellyn to speak.

* * *

They all went to eating straight away. Mars, first of all, wanted a taste of her homemade pasta first. Kellyn and Kate went straight for the stew made in the same style they were familiar with back in Almia. Dawn also wanted to try out the pasta, and by seeing that look Mars allowed Dawn to have a taste of the pasta first. Lucas of course wanted pizza. First, Lucas began to eat the pizza by tearing out a piece from the plate and eating it. Kellyn, although wanting to eat the stew, decided upon serving servings of soup to everyone. Kate got up to distribute glasses of water to everyone else. Mars happily ate some of the pasta she made before helping herself to a piece of the pizza. Dawn thought for a second before taking a spoonful of the stew.

"This is delicious," she muttered, eating the pieces of boiled and stirred vegetables. At the same time Kellyn was serving soup to everyone else. He left a bowl for Kate and then ate some of the soup himself. From his point of view, everyone was enjoying themselves.

Kate returned with the glasses of water and served them to everyone. By that point Mars and Lucas had finished their soup and started to go for more helpings of food, the pasta in particular.

It was then Mars and Kellyn realised how thirsty they were from the long journey, and then they quickly drank large quantities of water. Very shortly after they set down their glasses, Kate picked up her glass and drank a lot of water.

"Feeling thirsty, you guys?" Dawn asked with a twist of humour.

"We didn't fly here, you know," Mars casually replied. "I mean, like, walking in the snow for so many hours is so dry on the throat!"

Mars drank more water, and by now the pizza was almost finished. Kellyn took a spoonful of pasta onto his plate and continued to eat. Lucas tore off another piece of pizza and quickly ate it. Kate took the liberty of serving everyone another helping of mushroom soup, and there was just enough left for each bowl to have equal amounts of soup, whilst finishing the pot of soup.

* * *

Now, they four had just finished eating dinner and were cleaning up the dishes. Of course it would be fair that the Pokémon had a taste of the food too, and there, too, was enough food for seconds for the Pokémon.

"Did you like the food, Purugly?" Mars happily asked, picking up Purugly's plate. The response she got was a warm purr. "That's good," she said. "Besides, I'm thinking of giving everyone a little dessert. What do you think, Purugly?"

Purugly shrugged, and then fell asleep on the floor. Mars kindly asked Kellyn and Kate to help with cleaning the dishes while Kirlia went to clean up any extra messes that might have been left on either the table or floor. Indeed, Mars treated her guests to baking a set of biscotti bread, and then covering it with chocolate sauce, where it would be instantly put in the freezer so that the chocolate would solidify on the biscotti. Between wait times, Mars drizzled some white icing on the biscotti.

"What are you making, Mars?" Lucas asked, seeing how Mars was hastily preparing some treat.

"Oh, it's just some dessert," Mars explained. "It's not all for you, though."

Lucas nodded before withdrawing back to the living room. Kirlia, Kate, and Dawn worked together on washing dishes. To their surprise and satisfaction, all the dishes were cleanly finished so that there was no space for leftovers. All the three needed to do was clean everything else without having to store any extras, and simply wipe any speck of food left on the plates.

As for the Rangers' Pachirisus, they didn't really contribute much to the effort except by eating the rest of the food, which was possibly a reason why the food was finished and eaten completely.

Mars put the final piece of cutlery back to its respective place, and put the remainder of the washed plates on the drying rack. All in all, everything was done for now, and then…

_Oh, right,_ Mars thought. _The desserts should be ready by now!_

Heading for the freezer, she opened it and brought out the tray of delicate biscotti bread; served with a side of vanilla ice cream. It was then carried out to the living room for everyone to enjoy.

"Wow, Mars, did you make this yourself?" Kate commented. "It looks good!"

Mars was modest, and showed nothing more than a simple grin before handing out pieces of the chocolate-covered biscotti to Kellyn and the Pachirisus. Dawn and Lucas contently ate theirs without complaint and were wearing smiles.

To top it all off, Mars opened the box of finely designed chocolates Kellyn gave her, picked her favourite design, and slowly let it melt in her mouth…

* * *

"Well, I'm very happy you could invite us for dinner, Mars," Dawn thanked. "Like we said before, I think there's no problem to getting used to the new you, even though we've never heard from you since Stark Mountain."

Mars gave a hug each to Dawn and Lucas.

"Merry Christmas, guys," she said, timidly. "And thanks for cleaning up for me."

Dawn and Lucas waved Mars good-bye, and then sent out their Staraptor to begin a fierce flight all the way back to Twinleaf Town in the blizzard. Mars watched them depart, and she knew now that she had made friends out of old enemies that night. Looking at the Christmas tree again, she retreated back into her home.

"So I guess you're going to leave soon?" she asked, looking at the Rangers.

"I'm afraid so," Kate said. "But at the very least we've managed to drag you out of your house for Christmas. The next time we're coming, we're going to treat you to a dinner at a City Restaurant."

"Really, Kate!" Mars shouted.

Kellyn, Grotle, and Kirlia detected someone approaching the door, and went over there to open it. Kate and Mars, meanwhile, were chatting.

"Eating at a City Restaurant?" Mars said, still surprised. "I've eaten there before, but that was only one year ago since I went there. It was Kellyn's suggestion to go, first of all."

Kate wanted to say something, but Kellyn's presence interrupted the two.

"There're a couple of people here to see you, Mars," Kellyn said, his voice caught between mixed emotions.

Now Mars was curious. Kellyn didn't exactly say _who_ was at the door. It could be the mailman, but that would be too obvious. The thing about answering the door was that there would always be plenty of surprises, whether being pleasant or not.

Mars walked over to the door and, taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

* * *

**I will give you. One guess. To guessing who is at the door!**


	6. The Greatest Gift

**Sigh... I wish at least someone would've taken a shot at guessing who was at the door, but oh well.**

**Thanks to SpiritBlueWolf for reviewing!**

* * *

A large gust of cold winter air blasted into her face and hair. Mars had to shut her eyes for a moment so she could take in the gust, and when she opened her eyes, she was filled with overwhelming joy and sadness, as if she were experiencing and reliving a dear memory.

Standing in front of her were two people she was so familiar with. The thing was that she had never seen these two people for at least ten years, and she knew that before Team Galactic and Cyrus, there were these two. Why did she run away from them in the first place at such a young age? She had wasted her childhood away from them…

"M – m – mommy?" Mars tried to choke out the words.

It was indeed her mother and father that she ran away from ten years ago, and they hadn't changed much. Suddenly, Mars felt guilty upon seeing them. While she was with Team Galactic, she felt no regrets about what she was doing, or at least forgetting about her parents. But now that she was a Pokémon Trainer, she felt worse.

She started to cry.

"Mommy!" Mars shouted with tears, rushing to hug her mom.

"Mars…" her mother said speechlessly, hugging her as Mars' dad joined in the gathering hug, saying, "You're here."

Kellyn and Kate walked over see what was going on. Judging by the similarity and appearances of the couple that was hugging Mars, they quickly concluded that they were Mars' parents.

"Aw… Kellyn, that's so sweet!" Kate squealed, hugging his arm very tightly. Likewise Pachirisu was watching the scene and holding tightly onto Kate's shoulder.

"Mom, I'm – sorry," Mars said through tears, and she couldn't speak anymore, because she had to wipe away her tears. "I shouldn't have run away –"

Mars choked in her tears again, unable to speak. Her mother released Mars from the hug and put a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"You've grown, Mars, I'm proud of you for that," she said.

She was at a loss for words. If Mars wanted to say something, she wouldn't have been able to speak out the words.

In other words, they were caught in her throat.

"Mom… I grew up to be a criminal…" Mars started.

She cut in. "No matter what happens, your father and I will always love the little girl we raised a long time ago. Come on, Mars, you know that 'Mars' wasn't the codename Team Galactic gave to you. In fact, _we_ named you that."

She nodded to Mars' dad, who handed Mars a package.

"I would open this up first, it's our first gift to you," he said. Mars looked at it first, and then to her parents, and then finally unwrapped the present.

Mars fervently tried to hold back more sobs, but she managed to fight it by giving a relaxed and relieved smile, looking at the gift. It was a glass and diamond-like ornament in the shape of a Glameow. Mars knew what it meant.

"Mommy," Mars asked, as if she were a little girl again. "How _did_ I get a Glameow?"

"It was the one Pokémon that you first captured. Your father…"

Mars remembered.

* * *

_A long time ago, a little Mars and her dad were out walking. However, the crux was that her father would help Mars catch her very first Pokémon. They were walking in the neighbouring pathway, enjoying some peace and quiet, until a Glameow crossed their path._

"_Okay, here's your chance, Mars," her dad said. "I'll show you how to capture a Pokémon."_

"_But daddy…!" Mars whined. "It looks so hard!"_

"_Would you like to know how to make friends with them, Mars? There'll be different kinds, and it's their nature that makes the difference between friendliness and hostility."_

_Mars seemed to have lost what he was getting at, and so her dad chuckled. "Here, how about we do it together?"_

_He reached out to take a pocket-sized Poké Ball and enlarged it. The Poké Ball was no sooner placed in Mars' little hands, which struggled to hold the Poké Ball. Mars' dad placed his hand underneath Mars'._

"_Ready? Just do what I do and follow my motion. Oh, and do it quick or else it'll run away," he added hastily, and as a firm reminder._

_Mars looked up and confidently nodded. This prompted her dad to smile._

"_Okay then! Ready? One…"_

_He pulled his hand back, and Mars followed the motion._

"_Two…"_

_Mars felt the retraction come to a full stop, and she held her breath for the command._

"_Three! Throw it Mars!"_

_She felt her dad's hand and her own swing forward to let the Poké Ball fly through the air towards the cat Pokémon. Mars watched in wonder as the Poké Ball enclosed the Glameow in a beam and the Glameow was trapped in the Ball. It shook twice, and then thrice before it stopped struggling._

"_And that's that!" Mars' dad said with satisfaction, and got up to walk over to pick up that lone Poké Ball sitting on the grass. He returned later giving the Poké Ball to his daughter. Mars hesitated before taking the Poké Ball (saying a quiet "Thank you"). She slowly released the Pokémon within._

"_H – hello," Mars greeted. "I'm Mars."_

"_Meow," the Glameow replied, and circled around Mars in an affectionate way._

"_You two are going to be the best of friends," Mars' dad said. "I can tell."_

_Mars and Glameow walked around for a bit, and then they were off running back home in racing style. Mars had never felt so happy._

* * *

"And here's a wreath to commemorate this," Mars' mom said, hanging the wreath on the door. "It'll look really nice here."

Upon entering in, Kate went to pour some glasses of hot water for Mars' guests. By the time they gathered, with Mars sitting directly across from her parents…

"I wasn't expecting you…" Mars said, finally regaining control of her emotions. "I'm really sorry that I've nearly forgotten about you! It looks like that time with Team Galactic drained the life out of me."

"It wasn't your fault, Mars," Mars' mother said. "Like I've said; you've grown, and I mean you've grown to be a strong-minded girl. Now that we've found out where you live, and that you've got a bank account revived at HSBC, we just had to come to visit you for Christmas!"

Mars smiled warmly. Kellyn and Kate bowed their heads, but they too were wearing smiles. The Pokémon, meanwhile, were gathered a short distance away and watching the scene.

"I couldn't think of what to give you as a Christmas gift, Mars. Your dad thought of giving you the wreath and the diamond-glass Glameow…"

"Oh, no, it's okay mom!" Mars interrupted, with a flow of happiness. "Your visit to me is possibly the best gift I've gotten for the whole season!"

Her mom reached in from behind to grab a small paper bag, which Mars accepted with gratitude. "I decided that this was the only gift I could think of. You might not remember it well, but I hope you will enjoy it."

Mars opened the back and peeked inside. It took a few moments before her emotions finally settled in, and Mars had an outbreak of tears, followed by shaky hands. It resurrected a very old memory, and she relived it just hours and hours ago.

"What's wrong, Mars?" Mars' mom said, alarmed. "Is something the matter?"

Mars simply had too many sobs pouring out to speak. It was still a quiet night, with gentle snow falling on Floaroma, and possibly the only the sound breaking the silence was Mars.

"I – I haven't –" Mars cried. "I haven't had these for so long for so many years…"

"So I decided to bake some," her mother finished for her. "Go ahead, Mars, it's my treat."

Try as Mars might, she couldn't take one. Her mother supposed that she must be feeling ashamed or even guilt.

"There's nothing to be feeling guilty about, Mars," Mars' mom said. "After all, this used to be your favourite treat when you were little."

Mars was still crying when she took out a delicate shortbread cookie made and topped with icing with candies on it, and they were crystal-like. When Mars saw this, she stared for a moment trying to think of the childhood memories, and cried even harder.

"I d – d – d – don't deserve this," Mars confessed. "Why? I feel like I'm living in a dream…"

Her parents sat on each side of Mars with comforting faces.

"You know, Mars, I never told you this, but whenever you eat something sweet like these cookies when you're sad, it's bound to cheer you up," her mother said. "Go on, eat it."

Mars brought the cookie to her mouth, bit out a chunk, and chewed slowly. Suddenly, she felt a lot lighter and ate more.

"Let me guess: you still have a taste for these?"

Mars didn't reply, and instead ate another shortbread cookie; this time with a lot less tears than that of before. Mars' parents were happy to see this, as well as the Rangers and the Pokémon. Actually, Mars looked much happier again.

"Do you still think of me as the same girl I was before, even after what I've done?" Mars said. "Because I have never forgotten the taste of these cookies."

"You're our daughter," her dad stated. "There's nothing that needs to change, and yes, we still think of you as the little girl we raised and yet here's the big girl who's living by herself in Floaroma!"

Mars blushed, and after eating the shortbread she hugged her parents again, deeply thanking them for their visit to Floaroma and the shortbread.

"I'll be here," Mars said. "But still, mommy, where have you been living all this time?"

Mars' parents hesitated, and Kellyn and Kate looked up. But then they relaxed.

"We moved to Canalave City two years ago," Mars' mom said. "You should come give us visits more often. We're not far."

Mars seemed happy enough, but she still had one more gift for her.

"Mars, this is for you," Mars' mother handed her a somewhat small box. "When I knew you were living in Floaroma, I had to bring this because I know you'll treasure it as well."

The Pokémon Trainer removed the lid of the box, and Mars raised her eyebrows as she lifted a small piano to her eyes. She knew what it was: a music box.

"Do you remember?" Mars' dad asked.

* * *

_As a little baby, Mars would always like to play with the music box her parents had received after their wedding. She would open the top of the grand piano, reach in to wind the handle (it was double twisting bar) and a delicate tune would repeat itself with in a gentle manner._

* * *

The only thing Mars could do, as she heard the old music tune, was cry.

"I don't –" Mars said between sobs. "– want to keep it…"

"Oh, you don't have to," her mother said softly. "You treasured it every time you came back home. I figured, though, that you will have a better use for it than I will."

* * *

And now the time had come for departures. Kellyn and Kate, after ensuring that everyone was accounted for, were heading out to Canalave for a departing ship to Almia the day after. It came to Mars that Kellyn had just made her more resistant to the cold for the day's events.

"You've done quite a lot for me, you two," Mars thanked, giving Kellyn and Kate each a hug. "More than what I was asking for."

"Merry Christmas, Mars," Kate said, with Mars giving the same reply, and began to walk away from Mars' house.

"Merry Christmas, Kellyn," Mars said, and before Kellyn could reply Mars went forward and lightly kissed Kellyn on the cheek. Kellyn smiled as a response.

"You're very welcome, Mars," he said, finally. "Okay, Grotle, Kirlia, it's time to go."

He turned to walk away from Mars' house and join Kate. Kate was all smiles.

"How did it feel to have a very thankful kiss, Kellyn?" Kate asked, as if things were dead serious. Kellyn was intimidated, but Kate nudged him. "Come on…"

"It actually felt quite unique," he said. "It's hard to explain, but I suppose that it would be something that would happen…"

Kate laughed and grabbed Kellyn's hand. Together, with the Pokémon, they began a short journey all the way to Canalave. Although the cold was constantly nipping at them, they had no problem. After all, they were Pokémon Rangers, and Canalave City was only an hour away…

"One hour in the dark cold?!" Kate roared. "No way!"

* * *

**Floaroma Town: late night**

"So you _really_ need to stay the night," Mars said, half-amused. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

The Pokémon Rangers, along with their Pokémon, were apparently cold, tired, and miserable by appearance. Mars personally escorted them back to the rooms where Kellyn had previously stayed the previous year. Within moments, the Rangers and their Pokémon were sound asleep.

This left more time for Mars to talk with her parents once more. Although her parents had made the decision, like Kellyn and Kate, to stay at Mars' for the night, this did not keep Mars from staying awake.

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh…" Mars yawned. "I think it would be better now for me to sleep."

"Yes, indeed," her dad agreed, getting up to go to bed.

Now, only Mars and her mom were left alone.

"Mars, how about another piece of shortbread before bed?"

That was irresistible to Mars, and she grabbed another piece without need for another word. Mars' mom smiled, saying, "I could make more tomorrow, and I suppose you must be happy to have friends like Kellyn and Kate to support you. Did you know that when you were a little girl, you would never stop at the opportunity to eat a shortbread cookie?"

Mars thought only for a split second, and said, "Yep. I somehow managed to remember the most memorable experiences with you and daddy. I even remembered that day when you showed me a wonderful sight of the town with lights everywhere!"

"What did you do today, Mars?"

"Me?" Mars said. "Today, the Rangers and I went to Veilstone for shopping, and then we went to Hearthome City for more shopping for Christmas –"

And then, right after that, Mars fell asleep on her mom's lap. She was just too tired to talk anymore after the day's events.

"Waah… mom, I'm so tired," Mars quietly said halfway with a yawn, with her eyelids falling. Her mother understood, and stroked Mars' hair from her face.

"Mars, I think your story could wait for tomorrow," her mother coaxed. "You've had a long day, and you still haven't told me everything about the Christmas tree! No, you need some sleep, and I need to sleep too."

She didn't want to get up, so her mother helped her up to Mars' room. Mars' mom did feel a personal connection with her daughter re-established.

Now, her mother helped Mars onto her bed on the upper floor, and tucked Mars in with the light coloured bed sheets. She looked at her daughter Mars, who looked back with very, very tired exhaustion, but she grinned very widely.

"I noticed you had a Christmas tree newly planted in front of your house. Did you just plant it there? I wouldn't be surprised. You loved Christmas as I could firmly remember."

The Pokémon Trainer Mars smiled, resting her head back.

"You _could_ reserve a little time to tell me your story tomorrow, could you Mars?"

Mars yawned. "Of course, mom, and that's a promise."

Quietly, before Mars could fall asleep, she took off her Pokétch watch and put it on the table, saying, "Merry Christmas, mommy."

Her mother sniffed a tear of relief, and replied, "Merry Christmas, Mars."

And then Mars fell almost asleep on her warm bed once more, exhausted but filled with joy, in the cold winter of a snowy Sinnoh night. Before fading away into unconsciousness, she glanced out of her bedroom window. The snow fell outside her window like a soothing chorus, yet it was nothing but beautiful, and it completed a day Mars had truly and wholeheartedly enjoyed.

If that wasn't enough, her mother went and set the grand piano music box on the bedside, winded it, and it started playing the light heartwarming tune of the music box.

Her world started to increasingly grow drowsy. Mars, though, used the reserve of the strength to see her mother place the diamond Glameow ornament on her bedside table. This only made her much happier and she glimpsed at the flaky falling snow once more.

With that kind of friendly comfort from the snow, along with knowing of the memorable events of the day from Kellyn's visit to celebrating a small Christmas with Dawn and Lucas in Hearthome City to finally be reunited with her parents, and the slowing of the musical tune, Mars peacefully fell asleep.

Official completion on 12/25/2012 1:38 AM

* * *

**Review, please, because this is the last chapter!**

**Although it's pretty much a week away, I'd like to wish all readers here Merry Christmas!**


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